Is é cuspóir an Bhille seo roinnt aimhrialtachtaí a bhaint as na hAchtanna Arm-Phinsean atá ann faoi láthair agus soláthar a dhéanamh d'fheabhsaithe nó do lamháltais a ceaptar a bheith oiriúnach.
Faoi Achtanna 1923 agus 1927, ceanglaíodh ar bhaintreacha agus ar leanaí áirithe le pinsinéirí marbha— agus, ar an gcuid is mó de, ba dhaoine iadsin a maraíodh nó ar ghabh míchumas iad sa tréimhse 1916-1924— bheith i lánchleithiúnas ar na mairbh sin chun go mbeidís i dteideal liúntais a fháil. Anois, faoi ailt 2 agus 3 den Bhille seo, cuirfear ar chumas na mbaintreach agus na leanaí sin cáiliú le haghaidh liúntas gan an coinníoll atá i dtrácht a chur orthu. Chomh fada agus is eol, níor theip ach ar bheagán baintreach nó leanaí a chruthú go rabhdar i lánchleithiúnas ar a bhfearchéile nó ar a n-athair marbh chun críocha Achtanna 1923 agus 1927, agus meastar gur cheart an coinníoll a chur as an tslí anois ós rud é nach bhfuil a leithéid in Achtanna eile den tsamhail chéanna—Acht 1932, cuir i gcás.
Ar an gcuma chéanna, cuirfidh alt 4 ar chumas leanaí áirithe—agus arís, is cosúil nach mbeidh i gceist ach fíorbheagán—cáiliú le haghaidh liúntas i leith an athar mhairbh, fiú amháin gan eisean a bheith, ar lá a bháis, ina dhuine dá ngairmtear go teicniúil "pinsinéir pósta". Is iad na haicmí pinsinéirí a mbeidh feidhm ag an alt seo maidir lena leanaí, daoine a thug seirbhís sna Fórsaí agus a fuair pinsin faoi Achtanna 1946 nó 1949, agus arís, níl ann ach déanamh mar a dhéantar le daoine de na cinéil chéanna faoi Achtanna eile Arm-Phinsean.
Chun críocha na liúntas speisialta, foráiltear le halt 6, an tsuim ar a dtugtar "an tsuim iomchuí bhliantúil" a bheith mar a chéile do na daoine pósta uile. Mar is eol do Sheanadóirí, is mar a chéile faoi láthair an tsuim iomchuí bhliantúil do dhaoine a pósadh ar nó tar éis an lú Deireadh Fómhair, 1942, agus do dhaoine neamhphósta nó do bhaintreacha, agus dhaoine a pósadh roimh an lú Deireadh Fómhair, 1942. Fágann sin go bhfuil roinnt daoine a rachaidh an t-alt seo chun sochair dóibh.
Féadfar le halt 8 liúntas de £125 sa bhliain a íoc le mac buan-easlán nó, más neamhphósta nó ina baintreach di, le hiníon bhuan-easlán do dhuine a raibh seirbhís roimh an sos cogaidh aige agus a fuair bás de dheasca seirbhíse sa tréimhse 1916-1923. Más mac é, ní foláir an bhuan-easláine a bheith air sula raibh 18 mbliana slánaithe aige agus, más iníon í, 21 bliain. Ní heol do mo Roinn ach dhá chás den sórt sin agus rinneadh tagairt dóibh anseo nuair a bhí Bille na nArm-Phinsean, 1957, faoi bhreithniú.
Le halt 9, daoine a bhí ró-dhéanach in iarratais ar liúntais a dhéanamh faoi Chuid II d'Acht 1953, beidh caoi eile acu é sin a dhéanamh laistigh den dá mhí dhéag tar éis don Bhille seo teacht ina dhlí. I gCuid II d'Acht 1953, rinneadh soláthar le haghaidh liúntais do thuismitheoirí, do bhaintreacha agus do chleithiúnaithe eile ar dhaoine a raibh seirbhís roimh an sos cogaidh acu agus a fuair bás de dheasca seirbhíse sa tréimhse 1916-1923. Tá cuntas ag mo Roinn ar sheacht gcinn is tríocha d'iarratais dhéanacha a fhéadfar a bhreithniú ar achtú don Bhille seo.
Le halt 10, ceaptar a chur ar chumas duine iarratas a dhéanamh ar phinsean pósta nach raibh sé i ndon a éileamh ar alt 39 d'Acht 1953 a achtú toisc a phinsean míchumais a stad ar feadh tamaill san am áirithe sin. Níl i gcuntas ach cás amháin den sórt sin. Le halt 13, cuirfear leanaí áirithe a uchtaíodh faoin Acht Uchtála, 1952 i dteideal sochar faoi na hAchtanna Arm-Phinsean amhail is dá mba leanaí iad a rugadh de phósadh dleathach do na tuismitheoirí uchtála. Faoi alt 14 agus an Sceideal le chéile, ní bheidh ann a thuilleadh, chun críocha na liúntas speisialta, aon dáta reachtúil maidir le hiarratas a dhéanamh ar Bhonn Seirbhíse (1917-1921).
I dtaca leis na forálacha eile den Bhille, cuirtear síos in ailt 5, 7 agus 12, i ndáil le cuid de na sochair dá ndé antar soláthar leis an mBille seo, an prionsabal a rialaíonn cód na nArm-Phinsean i gcoitinne—is é sin, más cás créachta é, nach foláir an pósadh a bheith déanta roimh dháta na créachta agus, más cás galair é, roimh dháta an urscaoilte as na Fórsaí. Le halt 11. cuirtear rud as an tslí is deacair a léiriú agus a tháinig, i gan fhíos, de na focail inar cuireadh alt d'Acht 1953.
Mar is eol do Sheanadóirí, is rud achrannach ar fad cód na nArm-Phinsean agus ní furasta, i ráiteas gairid, cur síos go mion ar Bhille dá leithéid seo. I gcásanna ina bhfuil cuntas ag mo Roinn ar dhaoine a dhealródh bheith i dteideal i mbreithnithe faoin mBille agus a mbeidh orthu iarratas a dhéanamh chuige sin, tá beartaithe scéala a chur chucu an túisce ina dtiocfaidh an Bille ina dhlí agus deis a thabhairt dóibh ar iarratas a dhéanamh. Ar eagla go mbeadh cásanna ann nach bhfuil ar eolas ag mo Roinn, cuirfear fógra sna páipéir nuachta ina míneofar an scéal chomh soiléir agus is féidir.
The purpose of this Bill is to remove a few anomalies from the existing Army Pensions Acts and to provide for a number of improvements or concessions which have been represented to be desirable. Certain widows and children of deceased pensioners— broadly speaking, these were persons who were killed or incurred their disabilities in the 1916-24 period—were required under the Acts of 1923 and 1927 to have been totally dependent on the deceased in order to be eligible for allowances. Such widows and children will now, under Section 2 and 3 of the Bill, be enabled to qualify for allowances without the imposition of the condition in question. Only a few widows or children, as far as is known, failed to establish total dependency on their deceased husband or father for the purposes of the 1923 and 1927 Acts, and it is considered that, in these few cases, the condition should now be removed, seeing that it is not contained in other similar Acts, for instance, the 1932 Act.
In the same way, Section 4 will enable certain children—again, only a very small number is likely to be involved—to qualify for allowances in respect of the deceased father even if he was not, at the date of his death, what is technically known as a "married pensioner". The classes of pensioners in respect of the children of whom this section will apply are those who, having served in the Forces, were pensioned under the Acts of 1946 or 1949, and again it is a case of according the same treatment as is given to similar types of persons under other Army Pensions Acts.
Section 6 will, for special allowances purposes, make what is known as "the appropriate annual sum" the same for all married persons. As Senators are aware, the position at present is that the appropriate annual sum for persons married on or after the Ist October, 1942 is the same as that for unmarried or widowed persons, and lower than that for persons married before the 1st October, 1942, so that a number of people will benefit under this section.
Section 8 will enable an allowance of £125 a year to be paid to one permanently invalided son or one permanently invalided and unmarried or widowed daughter of a person who had pre-truce service and died as a result of service in the 1916-1923 period. The permanent invalidism must have existed before the child, if a son, reached the age of 18 years, and if a daughter, before she reached the age of 21. Only two such cases are known to my Department; they were mentioned here when the Army Pensions Bill, 1957 was being considered.
By Section 9, persons who were late in applying for allowances under Part II of the Act of 1953 will have a further opportunity of doing so within the twelve months after this Bill becomes law. Part II of the Act of 1953 provided for allowances for parents, widows and other dependants of persons who had pre-truce service and died as a result of service in the 1916-1923 period. My Department has a record of 37 late applications which, upon the enactment of this Bill, will be able to be considered.
Section 10 is intended to enable a person to apply for a married pension which he was unable to claim following the enactment of Section 39 of the Act of 1953 because his disability pension had become temporarily discontinued at the particular time. Only one such case is recorded. By Section 13, certain children adopted under the Adoption Act, 1952, will be made eligible for benefits under the Army Pensions Acts as if they were children born in lawful wedlock to the adopting parents. Under Section 14, taken in conjunction with the Schedule, there will no longer, for special allowance purposes, be any statutory date of application for a Service (1917-1921) Medal.
As to the remaining provisions of the Bill, Sections 5, 7 and 12 set down, in connection with some of the benefits for which this Bill provides, the principle which generally governs the Army Pensions code—namely, that marriage must have taken place, in a wound case, before the date of the wound and, in a disease case, before the date of discharge from the Forces. Section 11 removes a difficulty of interpretation caused unwittingly by the wording of a section in the 1953 Act.
As Senators know, the Army Pensions code is a very complicated one, and it is difficult, in a short statement, to go into all the details of a Bill such as this. It is intended, where my Department has a record of persons who would appear to be eligible for consideration under the Bill and where they will have to make application, to communicate with them as soon as the Bill becomes law and give them an opportunity of applying. To cover the possibility that there may be cases of which the Department is not aware, an advertisement setting out the position as clearly as possible will be inserted in the newspapers.